Gamernode: Latest PC News

Ascaron announces Hard to be a God UK release date...

It's not often that one of my favorite works of Russian literature and videogames collide in one entity; that's why I've been looking forward to Akella's upcoming hack-n-slash RPG, Hard to be a God. Based on the novel of the same name written by the Strugatsky brothers, the game tells the story of two planets: Earth and Arkanar. Both planets were buddy-buddy, but after a long war Earth continued to grow and Arkanar stayed relatively stagnant in terms of cultural and scientific evolution.

Skip forward a few hundred years. Earth is curious as to the fate of some former patriots, so they send a secret agent to Arkanar to investigate. Using sci-fi weaponry as well as what you can find on medieval Arknar, it's up to you to figure out why the planet hasn't progressed, and what happened to your fo...

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Faith Fighter: Knee-jerk reactions GO!

Sometimes content is released that has a higher agenda than simply being entertaining. It's commonly known (or is it?) that games are used to educate and advertise, but how often are they used to address pressing issues?

Faith Fighter, no not that Faith Fighter, is a flash game developed by Molleindustria where, according to the website's own description, you "choose your belief and kick the shit out of your enemies." You can choose between God, Jesus, Buddha, Ganesha, Budai, and Muhammad. To no one's surprise, the game features a disclaimer before you play the game that says:

"This game is not intended to be offensive towards any religion in particular. Its aim is to push the gamers to reflect on how the religions and sacred representations are often instrumentally used to fuel or just...

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Customizable loadouts and more coming for TF2

Quite a few changes are coming to Team Fortress 2 in the upcoming weeks. Soon enough, we'll be getting some Pyro and Soldier tweaks, in addition to some Medic enhancements including more achievements. But what's in store for the entire game itself?

Valve first has two new maps that are ready for release; one of which is called cp_badlands, which will introduce a new game mode called Goldrush.

Goldrush will entail the Blu team escorting a mining cart through a series of dustbowl-like map segments with the object of the map is to bring the cart all the way to Red's HQ within the time limit.

One of the biggest gameplay additions to TF2 will be customizable weapon loadouts. By default, the Medic's loadout is the syringe gun, the healing ray gun and a bonesaw but through earning new achievements...

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8800 killer emerges from AMD labs

Just a day before the wraps were set to come off the 3870 X2, a Chinese website has released an epically sized 32 page benchmark report on the new card, and it's looking mighty fine!

Middle Eastern Gamers were nice enough to go through and pick out some of the results. In the tests the 3870 X2 was pitted against an 8800Ultra card and the results are very exciting.

Default 3DMark06 test: - Radeon HD 3870 X2 score: 18,467 - 8800Ultra score: 14,197

3DMark06 test @ 2560 x 1600: - Radeon HD 3870 X2 score: 12,578 - 8800Ultra score: 8,746

In the game benchmarks, the 3870 X2 scored almost 30% more the 8800Ultra in Call of Duty 4 @ 1280 x 1024. In F.E.A.R. the 3870 X2 scored 20% more than the 8800Ultra. The 8800Ultra did beat the 3870 X2 in the Crysis and BioShock benchmarks, but it's likely due to pr...

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Assassins's Creed PC specs insanely high

Not content with Assassin's Creed being just another console port, Ubisoft has pulled out the big guns, giving it minimum specs that will make your PC wince.

While Crysis currently holds the crown of most insanely high required PC specs, Assassin's Creed looks like it just might beat out the German shooter.

The below was found in a new entry in the Ubisoft support knowledge database:

Supported OS: Windows XP / Vista (only) Processor: Dual core processor 2.6 GHz Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ or better recommended) RAM: 2 GB (3 GB recommended) Video Card: 256 MB DirectX 10.0–compliant video card or DirectX 9.0–compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher (512 MB video card recommended) (see supported list)* Sound Car...

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World of Warcraft hits 10 million subscribers

In a press release, Blizzard Entertainment announced that World of Warcraft has hit 10 million worldwide subscribers. The MMORPG now holds more than 2 million subscribers in Europe, more than 2.5 million in North America and over 5.5 million in Asia.

Blizzard is currently working on the second expansion pack to World of Warcraft titled Wrath of the Lich King. A release date is still unknown, in typical Blizzard style.

Said Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, "It's very gratifying to see gamers around the world continuing to show such enthusiasm and support for World of Warcraft. We're always pleased to welcome new players to the game, and we're looking forward to sharing the next major content update with the entire community in the months ahead."

Last month, Blizzard...

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Age of Conan delayed until May

Age of Conan publisher/developer Funcom has announed that the game's release date has been pushed back once again, and it is now projected for a May 20th launch.

The game was originally due last year, but was delayed until March, which has proven to be not quite enough time for the developers to refine the game to their liking.

Said producer/director Gaute Godager of the delay:

"The companies standing apart in the gaming market today are those with a relentless drive to achieve quality. Even though we regret delaying the launch, I am certain we made the right choice. I hope that our followers and fans will support our decision, and respect our commitment to quality."

Yes, quality is good. I'd avoid Duke Nukem Forever syndrome, though.

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EA working on free, ad-supported Battlefield game

In this press release, EA revealed Battlefield Heroes today, an upcoming free to play, cartoon-styled shooter. The game will be released this summer for PC.

Battlefield series developer EA DICE is handling the game's development and it'll be supported through advertising and micro-transactions. In addition, the game will feature a built-in matchmaking system, so no players will be left behind for the battlefield.

Not much else is known about the game, but the upcoming March 2008 issue of Games for Windows magazine will feature a prominent preview of the game, including a first-hand look at the game's cartoon style. Check out the cover by clicking full story.

Ben Cousins, senior producer at EA DICE, said, "We put a different twist on this Battlefield game going with the cartoon-style graphics ...

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Penny Arcade Adventures combat footage

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One is one of my favorite videogames to write about. I don't know if it's all in the abnormally lengthy title, of if it's because the game actually looks like it will be an enjoyable adventure/rpg. The game chronicles the adventures of comic duo Tycho Brahe and Gabe through a "robot-filled epic" that takes influence from Lovecraftian horror, among other things.

This video shows off some of the combat mechanics in the game, which resemble the sort of mid-attack button manipulation found in games like Paper Mario or Shadow Hearts. No official release date has been announced yet, but we do know that the game will be coming to ...

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Hellgate Chronicles brings London to Stonehenge

Flagship Studios' Hellgate: London will soon receive its first update since last October's release. Next Monday, January 21st, the first chapter in the Hellgate Chronicles will go live for subscribers, opening up the remains of Stonehenge and surrounding area for exploration and questing.

The ancient site will serve as a hub from which players will embark on new quests, and can be accessed via a portal in Templar Base.

New areas include:

The Caste Caves - Unlock four unique dungeons, one for each caste of enemy - Beast, Necro, Spectral and Demon - to seek and destroy a powerful overlord that resides in each cave. Defeating them and collecting their heads will allow you to continue the adventure...

Moloch's Lair - Only after collecting the heads from the Caste Caves will heroes be all...

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Set phasers to trouble for Star Trek Online

Progress seemed to be coming along nicely for Star Trek Online; despite being still a bit early in the game's development, we got to feast our eyes on a screenshot back in early December.

But all is not well; it began with rumors at the beginning of the week from WarCry stating that Star Trek Online developer P2 Entertainment (formerly known as Perpetual Entertainment) has stopped development on the MMORPG.

Later in the week, it was confirmed that P2 shut down Star Trek Online but are shopping around for a replacement developer. One rumored developer that is interested is MMORPG City of Heroes developer Cryptic Studios.

Early indications of a struggling developer came back in October when P2 put an in-development MMORPG, Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising, on indefinite hold in order to cover costs...

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C&C FPS Tiberium debut trailer released

So here it is, Tiberium, an upcoming FPS set in the C&C universe a decade after the events in C&C3. But, of course, we don't see anything gameplay worthy in the trailer other than some notes of "first-person", "squad control" and "epic sci-fi", which are push-over words nowadays and some snazzy cinematic action.

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EA announces Sims 2 Free Time expansion pack

In what maybe referred to as "The franchise that will never die," Electronic Arts has announced yet another expansion pack for their highly successful, The Sims, series of games.

This time around they will be offering The Sims 2 Free Time and will offer a new suite of hobbies and activities to gameplay.

This new edition will focus upon developing your Sims in following their interests and hobbies such as playing musical instruments, reading books, flying remote-controlled vehicles, pottery, repairing cars and many more free time activities.

Rod Humble, head of the Sims 2 studio said, "Players of The Sims love to bring stories to life by exploring new and wonderful areas of their Sims' existence. Now with The Sims 2 FreeTime, your Sims can explore a range of interests to discover new fun and ...

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Team Fortress 2 classes being altered

If you were to say that Team Fortress 2 is a perfect multiplayer experience, I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone to disagree with you (unless they're one of those disgruntled Halo players we've all met.)

However, Valve would beg to differ. The highly acclaimed highlight of the Orange Box is going to undergo some changes in the near future both big and small. Valve has stated that major changes are forthcoming, but have denied comment on what and when exactly that means.

According to Robin Walker, a Valve software developer, the Pyro will be the first to see changes. He has said that a change will come in the point scoring tally for this class.

Apparently, once the changes take place the Pyro will receive a small amount of points for igniting an enemy on fire even if he doesn't get ...

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Mythos bringing back the MMO hack-n-slash

In the past few years, the MMORPG genre has been expanding rapidly. Many of the games released in that time, however, have been me-too clones with the same look and feel as one another, matching mechanics and interface nearly identically.

Flagship Studios' Mythos is a throwback to the online RPGs of old; a top-down hack-and-slash dungeon crawler a la the Diablo series. As a matter of fact, the folks working on Mythos were part of the Blizzard team that put together the Diablo games years ago. If that's not enough for you, Mythos is free to download and free to play. There you go.

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Infinity Ward says pirates are plundering PC gamin...

Call of Duty 4 developer Infinity Ward published an interesting blog recently from Community Manager Robert Bowling. In it, he passionately discusses the state of PC gaming, and the rampant piracy that he says cripples it.

The post is titled "They Wonder Why People Don't Make PC Games Any More."

"We pulled some disturbing numbers this past week about the amount of PC players currently playing Multiplayer (which was fantastic). What wasn't fantastic was the percentage of those numbers who were playing on stolen copies of the game on stolen /cracked CD keys of pirated copies (and that was only people playing online). Not sure if I can share the exact numbers or percentage of PC players with you, but I'll check and see; if I can I'll update with them. As the amount of people who pirate PC g...

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January 10th GameTap releases

For my New Years' resolution, it's to get more free stuff, so here's a free GameTap update!

GameTap is offering three new subscription games this week. The first game is Sam & Max: Episode 202: Moai Better Blues, the next chapter in the second episodic series about the hilarious dynamic and quirky duo. Expect GamerNode's review up in a day or two.

The second new subscription game is from developer Meridan4 called Jewelcraft. The last new game is Hitman: Blood Money, the game got pretty good reviews, so if you like assassin-based games, take Blood Money for a spin.

In addition, the list of free-play titles has been expanded to 73, which means just one new free-play game this week. The new free-play game is Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle from SNK.

For the full list of free-play games, take a...

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Saga's entering its next beta phase -- want in?

Saga's an upcoming game combining a lot of genres. You've got RTS stuff, the TCG stuff, and MMO stuff all rolled into one little package. I'm not entirely sure how it plays yet, because the press beta just started this morning; look for some thoughts on that from a few people here in the next week or so.

The game plays by using online domains. Basically, you're playing an RTS game in a completely dynamic world where your actions remain after you're done. Build a building? It's there still when you log off (I presume, at least). You can join up with friends to form teams, trade for other stuff, and try to make your mark on the world.

Much like other games you've got your humans, giants, dwarves, elves, orcs, ogres, and dark elves all making up the five various factions, and each with a vari...

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Rumor: Will Logitech be acquired by Microsoft?

Reuters is reporting on some strong indications and rumors that Microsoft may be eyeballing PC accessory maker Logitech for a ripe acquisition. In subsequent financial news, Logitech's stoke rose as much as 12% based on this speculated acquisition rumblings. 

Previously, analysts labeled rumors of a possible $8 billion takeover bid as unlikely. In addition, Daniel Borel, Logitech board member and owner of a 6% stake within the company, dismissed any acquisition rumors and remained firm that the company won't be sold off despite having virtually no say in a future final deal.

"I am a co-founder of Logitech. Would you be willing to sell your child? I have no reason to sell. But I will not be the one to decide. I own only some 6 percent so I will neither enable nor prevent a sale of Logitech."

I...

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Crytek defends Crysis' high system requirements

Crysis is one behemoth of a game. By far the most spectacular looking computer game on the market--something Crytek was successful in achieving. So why has it been getting so much flak from gamers?

Well because you need one behemoth of a computer to enjoy it in its full glory. Cevat Yerli, the boss over at Crytek however defends the system requirements that they put out for the game.

"I think an important distinction that many gamers overlooked was that we designed 'medium' settings to look and play great. Our 'medium' setting should run great on 70 percent of gaming PCs.

"I definitely think that we need to continue to educate gamers about our settings. As we've been saying all along, Crysis looks and runs great on medium and high settings on gaming rigs that are 2-3 years old. Our primary...

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